Banks Never Ask That

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month — the perfect time to brush up on your scam-spotting skills. As part of the American Bankers Association’s Banks Never Ask That campaign, we’re helping you recognize the red flags that scammers use to trick people through emails, texts, phone calls, and payment apps.

Email Scams

🚩 Unusual Email Addresses: If the sender’s address looks off, it probably is.
🚩 Misspellings or Odd Grammar: Legitimate banks proofread their messages.
🚩 Scare Tactics: “Act now or your account will close!” — that’s a scam.
🚩 Suspicious Links or Attachments: Banks will never ask you to log in or open attachments via email.

Text Scams

🚩 Strange Numbers: Real bank texts come from short, official numbers — not random phone numbers.
🚩 Urgent Warnings: Real banks won’t threaten or pressure you to take immediate action.
🚩 Requests for Personal Info: Your bank will never ask for your PIN, password, or Social Security number by text.
🚩 Suspicious Links: Don’t click links in texts — visit your bank’s official website instead.

Phone Scams

🚩 Unexpected Calls: Be skeptical of calls you didn’t initiate.

🚩 Pressure or Threats: Hang up and call your bank directly using the number on your card.

🚩 Requests for Login Codes or Passwords: Real banks never ask for this information.

Payment App Scams

Beef Up Your Defenses

✅ Enable multi-factor authentication on your accounts
✅ Use a strong, unique password
✅ Keep your software and devices updated
✅ Install antivirus protection
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If you ever get a suspicious message, slow down, think twice, and contact us immediately. Remember: Banks Never Ask That!